Category: Sports News

Welcome one and all to Twins Opening Day! As always, we will have our game thread up this afternoon to make predictions about the rest of the season based off a single game, but for now you can read our predictions before a single game is played. All your favorite Twinkie Town writers have pitched in their thoughts. Leave yours as well!

Who will be the Twins’ best hitter in 2026?

Ben Jones: Byron Buxton this, Luke Keaschall that. How about Matt Wallner? He has major flaws but he’s also not that far away from being one of the best hitters in baseball, frankly. Wallner has his best season as pro, hits 45 dongs, and leads the team in every major offensive category including, yes, strikeouts.

Matt Monitto: Seeing a lot of buzz for a Luke Keaschall breakout, and I have to agree with it, especially if he bats leadoff ahead of Buxton: that would suggest pitchers go after him to avoid facing Buck with men on, giving him more chances to hit.

Zach Koenig: I think we may have seen the apex of Buxton in 2025. Now, slightly-regression Buxton may still be the best hitter on this squad, but I’m gonna go with Luke Keaschall. He really impressed me last year I sometimes wonder if he hadn’t gotten hurt maybe the Pohlads wouldn’t have gone scorched earth on the bit. Extremely inexperienced, I know, but that speed really plays.

James Filmore: Byron Buxton

John Foley: Byron Buxton. It’s still best to look at things for Buck on a rate basis, even after he played in 126 games last year (his most since 2017), but we shouldn’t overthink this question. Since the 2020 campaign, Buxton has solidified his place as one of the game’s premier sluggers. By isolated slugging, Buxton trails only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani over that span.

John Von Mosch (aka our good friend Imakesandwichesforaliving): Byron Buxton. He’ll carry over from last season. Maybe a 30-30 season?? 

Hans Hollander: Buxton continues to be a star with another fantastic season…this time earning top-10 MVP honors. 

Who will be the Twins’ best pitcher in 2026?

Ben Jones: This was a more fun question back when Pablo Lopez was healthy and Bailey Ober could crack 90 MPH on his fastball. Now, the only real answer is Joe Ryan. However, I’ll add a caveat that I think there’s like a 80% chance Ryan is dealt at the deadline, leaving space for someone to catch him on overall impact. In that case, 2027 All-Star Taj Bradley is on the case.

Matt Monitto: Joe Ryan for as long as he remains a Twin.

Zach Koenig: I’m going chalk here with the Joe Ryan Experience. When he’s right, he’s a top-flight MLB starter. With Pablo out, I don’t see an obvious challenger to that mantle.

James Filmore: Joe Ryan

John Foley: Joe Ryan for the first half of the season. Again, let’s not overthink it. Who will be the best pitcher in the second half is anyone’s guess because Ryan won’t be with the Twins past the trade deadline. If the outlook going into 2027 is going to be improved over this past winter, the answer needs to be Taj Bradley and Mick Abel. 

Sandwiches: Joe Ryan. I think he’s the only pitcher on the staff, isn’t he? 

Hans Hollander: Joe Ryan will lead the staff…and will stay with the Twins for the entire year! And, as a unit, the rotation is tops in the division. As for the bullpen, Taylor Rogers regains the closer title and leads the team with saves. 

Who will be their breakout star?

Ben Jones: I really think Brooks Lee puts it together this year. That doesn’t mean he’s suddenly a mid-order bat, but a .750 OPS and 20 home runs would unironically make him one the Twins’ three most important position players. With Kaelen Culpepper on his heels, he’ll feel the pressure to get back to his top-prospect status and it’s now or never.

Matt Monitto: I already said Keaschall, but I’m going to add another and say Eric Orze becomes a high-leverage option in the bullpen. My justification is that I had Orze as a solid relief options for several seasons in my Twins Out of the Park save, so I’m rooting for him.

Zach Koenig: A bit of a swerve here, but I’ll say manager Derek Shelton. I know from all accounts that Rocco seemed to be really good behind the scenes with player relationships. But to me, that never translated to fans. He never showed much emotion and, quite frankly, at times (too many times, by the end) didn’t seem to be having much fun at all. I’ve heard a few Shelton interviews and he seems to bring a new energy.

James Filmore: Taj Bradley because the Twins are due for a great young starter.

John Foley: Austin Martin in a nearly everyday super utility role. (Editor’s note: the heart yearns for 2024 All-Star Willi Castro)

Sandwiches: I have a feeling Luke Keaschall will tear it up this year. 

Hans Hollander: Austin Martin proves he belongs in the lineup, leading off more than any other Twin. 

Which top prospect will have the greatest impact in 2026?

Ben Jones: I don’t think he’s the best of the Twins’ top 100 quartet, but the answer here is probably Connor Prielipp. Minnesota’s bullpen is so vacant of impact arms that he would probably be their best reliever right now. As it stands, he’s in St. Paul working as a starter, but the Twins will likely want to lighten his load as the season wears on, giving him a chance to step in as their best reliever down the stretch.

Matt Monitto: Gabriel Gonzalez because eventually they’ll call up a right-handed-hitting outfielder.

Zach Koenig: I have to plead the fifth on this one, as I simply do not follow the minor leagues or prospects enough to have an informed opinion. As I always say, a player “becomes real” to me when he hits the majors. (Editor’s note: that makes Zach’s answer 30-year-old career minor league catcher David Bañuelos according to the TT bylaws. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.)

James Filmore: Prielipp because his name sounds kinda kinky.

John Foley: Mick Abel. His improvement in throwing strikes last year appears to have carried over into this spring. Abel has been hard to square up throughout his minor league career and generates frequent ground balls when hitters do put it in play. Avoiding free passes at a much higher rate has changed the trajectory of his outlook. 

Sandwiches: I’ll have to go with Emmanuel Rodriguez. I don’t keep tabs on the prospects well enough, but I think he’s been healthy and had a great spring. He’ll get the nod at some point and impress folks.

Hans Hollander: Culpepper ends the season as the starting shortstop, starting to make Twins fans optimistic about the position. 

Predict the Twins’ final record and whether or not they make the playoffs.

Ben Jones: Most projection systems have the Twins between 78-80 wins. Outside of the bullpen, I think that’s about where they stand as a team with the opportunity for more if some combination of Wallner, Larnach, Roden, Lewis, Lee, Martin, and Bell can turn into true mid-order bats. That’s about where you want to live as a team who is mid-rebuild (despite what Tom Pohlad will tell you). Bullpens are fickle and it’s just as likely that Cole Sands has the best year of his life that the entire thing implodes. I’ll be the positive one and say they finish 85-77 and sneak into the final Wild Card slot.

Matt Monitto: 64-98, but incredibly, they finish first in the Central after a string of tornadoes sweeps through opposing clubhouses and leaves them without uniforms for the entire sea— actually, no, they finish last.

Zach Koenig: No playoffs—I just don’t see even a Wild Card berth happening. I do think this squad still has enough talent to not be 92+ loss bad. At the same time, they have enough holes that unless everything comes up 21, I don’t see them all that competitive. I’ll go with 74-88—four games better than last year based on the fact that morale won’t be quite as low as August/September ’25. But also not enough to really move the needle.

James Filmore: 72-36 (wait for it…)

Marea Anderson: Somewhere around 65-97, and that’s being generous. I’m not blaming players at all; this is based purely on the ownership. I’m convinced they’re trying to recreate the movie Major League into a documentary, and are doing everything they can to make the fans and players hate it here so they can move to a larger or warmer climate. 

John Foley: 74-88. I think the chances they finish below the White Sox in the standings in 2026 are higher than their chances of making the postseason. 

Sandwiches: 72-90, and I sadly think I’m being optimistic. If they make the playoffs with that record, something went terribly wrong in MLB.

Hans Hollander: The Twins finish at .500 and out of the playoffs. BUT, they finish with one of the stronger Septembers in the sport and clarity on a direction for the next season. 

Give me a bold prediction for this season.

Ben Jones: I don’t know how, I don’t know when, but I absolutely know that Austin Martin’s hair will cause him to make a game-losing mistake. Maybe it gets in his eyes during a crucial at-bat. Maybe his glove gets caught in it as he goes to make a leaping grab in left field. Maybe a bird takes up residence in his luscious mane, they develop an unbreakable bond, and said bird hears the high frequencies of the PitchCom device and starts whispering pitches into Martin’s ear but often gets it wrong because it’s still new to english.

There’s no way to know the specifics, but I guarantee it will happen. I can feel it my bones.

Matt Monitto: Due to a positional change forcing them to use their DH in the field, Kody Funderburk is forced to bat in a late June game and homers.

Zach Koenig: If by some chance the Twins are in contention on August 13—the Field of Dreams game—they are able to summon the ghost of Walter Johnson out of the corn. He hadn’t shown up with the 1919 bunch back in the Ray Kinsella Era because the notoriously above-board Big Train would never associate with known gamblers. Because he is, well, Walter Johnson, he immediately pitches a perfect game in Dyersville and the Twins are the new AL favorites. Because Minnesota is, well, Minnesota, he feels “a little something” in his elbow the next day and is diagnosed with a torn ACL. Because he can’t step over the chalk line of any ballpark, the surgery must be performed by Archibald “Moonlight” Graham, who of course botches it because he lived decades before Tommy John’s landmark procedure. The Twins collapse the rest of the way.

James Filmore: The Twins finish 72-36 because… the season will be canceled in August when the Twins are on the verge of clinching a #1 playoff seed, just because MLB hates YOU personally. Not Twins fans in general, just YOU. YOU know who YOU are and YOU know what YOU did.

John Foley: No fewer than five Twins finish the season with 10+ home runs and 10+ stolen bases. (They had 3 do it last year, none in 2024, and 1 in 2023).

Sandwiches: The Twims will set the record for the most innings pitched by position players in a season by a long shot, most of them by Kody Clemens, enough for him to qualify for some sort of award. Maybe best K/9 by a reliever.

Hans Hollander: T.C. Bear announces he has twin sons: Lil’ Minnie and Paulie B(ear). (Editor’s note: the notoriously litigious Disney Corporation already has a cease-and-desist in the mail, Hans. Nobody infringes upon Michael Theodore Mouse’s wife’s copyrighted name, image, or likeness. You can’t just say things like this on Al Gore’s internet!)

At long, long, long last, baseball returned on Wednesday. The San Francisco Giants took the field, the fans poured through the gates, and the kayaks flooded the cove. For the first time in 178 days, Giants baseball was back.

But seriously, you couldn’t have waited 179 days? We had to do this today?

Apparently. And so the Giants returned to your screen and Aaron Judge struck out four times for the first time since 2024, and other than that, the evening was a gigantic, awful, no-good mess.

The game was a fiasco from the get-go, and it started before it even started. The Netflix baseball era began with an All-Star display of solipsistic streaming. It seemed the company’s lone goal was to convince you to sign up for a service that you already had to be signed up for to see said streaming, creating a capitalism ouroboros, with baseball nowhere to be found. Somehow, despite the day supposedly being about celebrating the return of America’s pasttime, we were forced to confront three of the people I least want to listen to when watching baseball: Bert Kreischer, Jameis Winston, and Rob Manfred. On top of all that, Netflix had all winter to prepare for this one game, and still ended up with the worst graphics in the history of organized sports.

Finally and mercifully, the game began, only 20 minutes late. And for a few glorious moments, not only was all right with the world, but the Giants were cooking. Logan Webb took the mound for his fifth consecutive Opening Day assignment, but just his second at home. He struck out Trent Grisham. Then he struck out Judge. Then he got Cody Bellinger to fly out to cap a perfect inning.

The good vibes and times would only amplify in the opening moments of the bottom half of the inning. Facing the inevitable Max Fried, Luis Arráez — who walked just 58 times across 1,257 plate appearances the last two years — began the season, and his Giants tenure, with a four-pitch walk. Naturally. After Matt Chapman narrowly legged out a potential double play, the Giants had their first moment that made you consider that the day just might be special (beyond the obvious theatrics).

Rafael Devers, fearsome as he may be, got up in the count 2-0, was handed a challenge sinker by Fried, and swung out of his boots for it. He popped it up, at a decidedly unintimidating 74 mph, high into the San Francisco wind.

But it landed in the glorious dead area where the middle infield can’t quite reach the middle outfield, try as it may. And Chapman, reading the arc of the looper so deftly that I initially thought he had mistaken the situation for having two outs, made it all the way to third on Devers’ bloop. Here, in the bottom of the first, with their ace on the mound and dealing, the Giants had a prime opportunity to strike first, and seize control.

Instead, Willy Adames struck out and Jung Hoo Lee ground out, and we went to the second inning, where the game was lost.

The Yankees, it seemed, had a plan against Webb: attack early. Ben Rice swung at the first pitch of the inning, and while he grounded out, it set the tone. Giancarlo Stanton swung at the second pitch of his at-bat, singling it into center for New York’s first baserunner. Webb got in on the action himself, hitting Jazz Chisholm Jr. with his next pitch. José Caballero showed the most patience of them all, waiting until the third pitch of his at bat to blister a ball down the third-base line for an RBI double.

Old NL West foe Ryan McMahon also waited for the third pitch, dribbling a seeing-eye single through the middle for a two-run single. Austin Wells took the very next pitch into the outfield for a one-bagger. Grisham took the very very next pitch into the outfiield for a three-bagger. Six consecutive batters had reached base, and they’d seen a combined 11 pitches.

It was the type of performance that left you feeling like the Yankees were better prepared than the Giants. The type of performance that made you wonder if New York was picking up on a tell with Webb’s pitches. The type of performance that leads you to overanalyze a game that represents just 0.617% of the schedule.

Webb recovered. He ended that nightmare sequence by striking out Judge again, and then Bellinger. He set down the side in order in the third. He handled the fourth easily, while handing a Judge a hat as he punched him out for a third time.

But in the fifth, the same thing happened. The Yankees, as if remembering what had worked in the second, hit the “replay” button on the strategy. Bellinger singled on the first pitch of the inning. Rice singled on the second pitch of the inning. Stanton singled on the fourth pitch of the inning. And then, because this is what happens when things aren’t going your way, Webb got what he assumed would be a double-play grounder from Chisholm, but Adames’ throw was low and Casey Schmitt couldn’t dig it out, resulting in an error that scored the second run of the inning, and the seventh and final run of the game.

That was six runs more than was necessary for the Yankees. The Giants offense, so potent in February, was nowhere to be found in the first meaningful game of the year, be it against Fried or the trio of relief arms the Yankees employed, which included Camilo Doval. When all was said and done, Devers’ bloop stood as one of just three hits off the Giants’ bats, joining mild-mannered singles by Arráez and Heliot Ramos. Arráez also had his walk, as did Chapman, while Schmitt was hit by a pitch, and those were the only Giants to earn a spot on base, though Adames also found a residence at first thanks to an error.

It was a 7-0 loss that humbled not just the Giants, but all of us who dared pretend like we know things about baseball. The talk all offseason and preseason was about the team’s revamped and exciting offense. The least concerning part about the Giants was Webb. The glaring issue and question mark was the bullpen.

And yet the offense was nonexistent, and Webb had his first five-run inning since 2023. The bullpen, meanwhile, was the only thing that went right for the Giants. Keaton Winn was downright filthy, striking out Judge and Bellinger in a powerful sixth-inning appearance.

JT Brubaker needed just 22 pitches to handle two scoreless innings. Caleb Kilian took on the heart of the order — Judge, Bellinger, and Rice — and retired them in order, on 10 pitches in the ninth.

It’s a funny game like that. Maybe the bullpen will prove to be the star of the team. Or perhaps, as is more likely, we’ll soon be reminded that one game is just that: one game.

Today I went to the store to load up on snacks for the game. The woman checking out in front of me saw my basket and asked if I was hosting a party. I told her that no, I just like to buy ballpark foods for the first day of the baseball season. That seemed to please her greatly.

Thankfully she didn’t ask what team I was rooting for. I’d like to think she’s out there somewhere, envisioning that I had a much more enjoyable evening than I actually did.

Maybe it’s irresponsible to extrapolate much from an opener, considering how soaked in pomp the first game of the season can be, both teams fresh out of spring camp and no one yet in midseason mode. Yeah, it’s early and the season is soooooo long.

But it’s hard not to like what the Yankees did Wednesday night in routing the Giants, 7-0, in the first game of the Major League Baseball season in San Francisco. Love, really.

The Yankees offense, tops in the majors last season, scored seven times without the benefit of its best weapon, the home run, or its best hitter. 

Aaron Judge, the game’s biggest offensive force, was 0-for-5 with four strikeouts, and the Yanks flourished, anyway. In the big pinstriped picture, Judge’s forgettable night didn’t matter a whit except to social media wiseacres shopworking jokes.

There were other glowing pluses, too, including a superlative outing from Max Fried, who threw 6.1 shutout innings, and 2.2 scoreless frames from the bullpen. After an early wobble in the first inning, Fried basked in the comfort of the five-spot the Yankees put up in the second inning off one of baseball’s best pitchers, San Francisco ace Logan Webb.

If Fried can battle like this when he’s perhaps not his sharpest and then unleash brilliance when he’s at his best, the Yankee rotation profiles as a monster, what with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón slated to return during the season. Especially if Cam Schlittler is what Yankee fans hope he is and what he showed last year.

There’s more: Judge was the only batter without at least one hit. Austin Wells and Giancarlo Stanton had two apiece. The Yankees took an aggressive approach against the Giants, getting five of their 10 hits on the first pitch of an at-bat. If you are a Yankee fan who’s been crying for their favorite team to not rely so much on the home run, maybe this game’s in your Louvre. They still struck out 12 times – no offense is perfect.

The Yankees leaned on the longballs last year, scoring 50.1 percent of their MLB-best 849 runs via the home run. Don’t get us wrong – hitting home runs is a great way to win. The Yankees had a .632 winning percentage when they hit a single homer last year and that figure ballooned to .707 when they hit two-plus longballs.

But for years, the Yanks have felt like a team that could use a little offensive diversification. That’s why it’s great they have an able basestealer like José Caballero on the roster. Caballero drove in the first run of the game and, while he made an error at shortstop, he also had a nice pickup toward the middle.

If Caballero continues to have positive moments, the chatter around shortstop will only get louder as Anthony Volpe, who struggled last year, recovers from offseason surgery. His shoulder fix might explain why he backslid last year, but Caballero doubtless made fans Wednesday night, which could bring up thorny questions for the Yanks when Volpe’s ready again.

Speaking of questions, there were plenty about bringing Trent Grisham back to play center. But Grisham on Wednesday gave doubters something to chew on, lashing a key two-run triple. It’s one game, we get it, but it was a big hit. A few more of those, and maybe skeptics won’t doubt his ability to flash numbers similar to last year.

Oh, and were you fretting about Ben Rice’s defense at first? He made several tough scoops there. Early days, yes, but something to build on. And while Jazz Chisholm Jr. might have a rep as someone who blanks on defense sometimes, he sure was paying attention in the sixth inning when Matt Chapman lashed a low, 106.7 mph liner at him. Chisholm didn’t catch it cleanly, but snagged the ball out of the air with his bare hand, a nice second-chance snare for an out.

It was only the first night and maybe we should be careful about any conclusions we draw. Early metaphors are cheap and easy, and we don’t know how long early sizzle will last. Who in their right mind would draw any lasting impression from Judge’s game, right?

Still, for one night, the Yanks didn’t mask big flaws with big homers or pummel some bad team to shine up their runs-per-game stats. They beat an ace and soundly. Maybe they have a couple of different ways to beat teams.

Lots to like. But plenty to still prove, too.

It’s early, after all.

Well we now have a waiting game for the Braves’ regular season to start. We did get to see Max Fried have a good start in the first game of the regular season (which was on Netflix and was weird). The Braves’ roster is really rough compared to what we thought it would look like two months ago. The path to this team being what we wanted it to be is getting a ton of production out of the offense, the bullpen being nails, and the team getting a bunch of pitching talent back off the IL and pitching well. It’s not exceedingly likely, but the path is still there for a very good season.

Braves News

The Braves announced their Opening Day roster and there were no surprises, as late acquisition Osvaldo Bido took the last roster spot that would have been occupied by Spencer Strider, who is now on the IL.

The Braves won the Grapefruit league, which is pretty fun and has made Spring Training more enjoyable, but also has very little predictive effect on their regular season.

MLB News

The Royals DFA’d former Braves’ top prospect Drew Waters, as the Braves clearly did well to get the pick that turned into JR Ritchie for him when he still had prospect value.

The Cardinals placed outfielder Lars Nootbar on the 60-day IL, enabling them to carry top prospect JJ Wetherhold on their Opening Day roster.

Max Fried and the Yankees routed Logan Webb and the Giants in the first game of the regular season on Netflix.

Spring Training ended for the San Diego Padres on Monday with a win over the Seattle Mariners, giving them a 15-15 record over their spring schedule. While the starting rotation remains the biggest concern for the organization, no trades or signings took place after games began to address that concern.

The Friars will begin the season with a presumed five-man rotation of Nick Pivetta, Michael King, Randy Vasquez, Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez. Multiple questions remain regarding health and effectiveness for this group. During the last days of spring, JP Sears joined Triston McKenzie and Marco Gonzales in the minors to work on their command. Matt Waldron, still needing to stretch out to starter length, will begin the season on the IL.

Roster injuries and transactions for the start of the season

Joe Musgrove, Bryan Hoeing and Griffin Canning will begin the year on the 15-day IL. Musgrove has not pitched in a game since March 4 and there have been no reports of pitching at all since March 8. He continues to work back from Tommy John surgery while Canning is working back from Achilles surgery. Jhony Brito is on the 60-day IL and Yu Darvish was added to the Restricted List.

Bullpen pitchers Yuki Matsui (groin strain) and Jason Adam (quad tendon rupture surgery) are working their way back and will begin on the IL. Matsui has worked on the back fields in Arizona but needs a rehab assignment. Adam pitched in two Cactus League games, throwing 22 pitches and faced six hitters without allowing a hit. He just needs to be tested further and have increased work to assure his leg will hold up. He can be backdated to March 22 and return as early as April 6.

Utility player Sung-Mun Song (oblique strain) had two plate appearances in the final game; he walked and struck out while playing second base. He will begin on the IL to get at-bats and also play shortstop. It remains to be seen if they keep him in the minors to get repetitions at shortstop and outfield so that he can be tested at the positions they originally hoped he could cover.

It should be noted that when Song is activated, Ty France cannot be sent to the minor leagues without clearing waivers. That would be unlikely, the Padres will have a difficult situation to deal with when Song is ready. None of their bench players have minor league options.

Márquez’s effectiveness

Germán Márquez had a difficult time with command to begin his time this spring. He gradually worked into a much better spot, flashing a 97 mph fastball and a dominant knuckle curve that he leaned on for outs. He finished with 16.1 innings pitched and 23 strikeouts, tops among Padres pitchers. His 7.16 ERA reflects his early struggles but his last two starts were big improvements. He and Randy Vasquez showed improved command and velocity this spring.

The bullpen rocks

Despite Matsui and Adam starting on the IL, the Padres bullpen looks formidable again this season. Featuring Mason Miller as the closer, the rest of the staff is solid despite the lack of two of their arms. Adrian Morejón, who quietly pushed his fastball velocity to 101 mph this spring, can ably sub for Adam as the setup man. They will carry both Ron Marinaccio and Kyle Hart as swing/bridge pitchers. Jeremiah Estrada, David Morgan, Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriquez will be on the team until Matsui and Adam are activated. Marinaccio no longer has options and cannot be sent to the minors without clearing waivers.

Positional depth

With the roster fixed, the Padres depth this season is significantly improved from 2025. Gavin Sheets will be the starting first baseman against right-handed pitching. He surged at the end of spring with three home runs in four games and has played solid defense. Against left-handed pitching it looks like Nick Castellanos will get looks and Miquel Andujar can also work in. They both can DH and come off the bench. Both mash lefties and should give the Friars multiple options. France is a Gold Glove-winning first baseman and can be used for defensive relief as well as a solid bat.

Jake Cronenworth will be the backup shortstop. There isn’t anyone else on the roster to relieve Xander Bogaerts. France can back up Cronenworth. It seems that getting Song into multiple roles at the minor league level would be the best approach to add more depth. Mason McCoy is in the minors in case of injury. Will Wagner has an oblique strain and has missed most of the spring and will start the season on the 10-day IL.

Bryce Johnson has won the fourth outfield job. It makes sense, as he is a solid defender with speed and base running skills. His bat broke out last year and he has no options remaining, so they lose him if they don’t keep him on the roster. Outfielder Jase Bowen impressed mightily this spring and will undoubtedly be with the team when anything happens to an outfielder this season.

There isn’t another catcher on the 40-man roster so if Luis Campusano doesn’t rise up to the challenge placed in front of him, the Padres have two options in the minors that they can place on the roster. Blake Hunt, who is currently hurt, and Rodolfo Duran are more advanced than the other catchers available. It appears Campusano will get every opportunity early in the season to prove he belongs.

Spring Breakout first team

MLB named their Spring Breakout First Team players after all games were completed. Padres prospect Ethan Salas was named at catcher and outfielder Kale Fountain was honored as well. Both hit big homers in the Padres’ losing effort, and Salas put on a show in making his return to the field. Fountain is making the switch from infield to outfield now that he has completed the rehab from Tommy John surgery. Both will be watched for breakouts in their careers during this season.

Minor signs

The Padres signed RHP Jose Leclerq to a minor league contract. He missed all of 2025 due to a lat strain. The 32-year-old had late inning stuff in his past and will start his attempt to return to form in the minors.

RHP Julio Dilone was also signed to a minor league contract. The 25-year-old Dominican will return to the minor leagues after spending last season in the Atlantic League. He was previously in the Seattle Mariners and Miami Marlins organizations but not above Single-A.